The Blitzkrieg worked because the French political leadership was incapable of effectively directing its military, refusing to budge from a "Defend everywhere!

The Blitzkrieg worked because the French political leadership was incapable of effectively directing its military, refusing to budge from a "Defend everywhere! All of the time!" strategy. Folks forget that the French had rather excellent tanks ~1939 [0], especially in their calvary arms (the Hotchkiss H35 and SOMUA S35). Which makes sense, since they essentially invented the modern tank in the FT. [1] The rapid success of the Blitzkrieg was mostly a result of (a) France still being in the middle of re-organizing, equiping, and training their armored forces, (b) some bullshit at Sedan, and (c) French leadership making terrible strategic military decisions again and again [2]. Had the DCr's been supplied (who knew tanks need fuel?) and used to effectively counterattack, as designed, German plans would have ground to a halt. Instead, you had the French Prime Minister declaring that all was lost six days after the Germans invaded the low countries. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanks_of_France#Inter_War https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanks_of_France#Inter_War [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_FT https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_FT [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_France#French_leaders https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_France#French_lead...